Chris Brookes-Smith used to live in fear of dying from eating even the smallest trace of peanut. Nearly 10 years ago, he had his worst allergic reaction after ordering curry at a local Indian restaurant. Within seconds, he could feel his throat beginning to close up, hives began to form in his armpits, and his face started to swell. Trying to avoid peanuts — one of the most common food allergies — had been a way of life for Chris. Eating out, going to social events, and traveling abroad were all fraught with anxiety. Then, his mother heard about a clinical trial at King’s College London that would change her son’s life. It would test whether adults like Chris with serious peanut allergies could be desensitized by training their bodies to tolerate the very thing that could kill it, calming down the immune system when it would normally over-react. Despite being nervous, the 26-year-old agreed to sign up. Under the watchful eye of doctors, Chris started by eating a fraction of a milligram of peanut powder mixed with yogurt. Over many months, the amount of peanut was gradually increased, slowly building up to Chris eating fractions of nuts and, finally, whole nuts. By the end of the 9-month study, Chris could eat the equivalent of five peanuts without having allergic reactions. The method — called oral immunotherapy — had already proven to work for allergies to pollen and wasp and bee stings. It has only been used on food allergies in the last 20 years. Chris now eats four peanuts every morning with his granola to keep the allergy at bay. While he admits that he still hates the flavor of peanuts, he knows he can now eat something that once sent his body into a nuclear meltdown. “It’s a wonderful feeling,” said Chris. “I’m no longer afraid of dying."
